Pendeen
OS Grid ref:- SW384344
The small Cornish village of Pendeen lies at at the northwestern tip of Penwith district and is situated three miles (4.8 km) east of St. Just. Pendeen was once a haven for smugglers. Its name (Cornish: Penndin) means 'headland of a fort'.
The village has three beaches and a very good range of shops, art galleries and pubs.
Pendeen is famous for the Geevor Tin Mine, the largest mining history site in the UK, which was visited by the Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh in 1957. The mine incorporated part of the old Levant mine, with one gallery 2,000 feet below the sea-bed. Pendeen has a history of mining which dates back over 3000 years. The mines there were worked in Roman times, the Geevor Tin Mine closed in 1990. The nearby Crowns engine houses are dramatically perched on the coast at nearby Botallack. The Count House, Botallack, now owned by the National Trust, contains information about the Crowns and other industrial heritage sites in the area.
Pendeen Lighthouse (pictured left) stands on the promontory of Pendeen Watch, which can accessed from a lane opposite the village car park. The lighthouse and was built in 1900. The wreck of the ship 'The Liberty', can be seen on Liberty Rock below the lighthouse, much of the ship has now rotted away but sections of the wreck are still visible at low tide. The veiws from Pendeen Watch are excellent and it presents a good location to spot seals, kestrels and buzzards
Pendeen House was the birthplace of William Borlase, the antiquarian and writer of the history of Cornwall, whilst Pendeen Manor Farm dates from the sixteenth century.
Pendeen is overlooked by a hill which is known to locals as 'The Carn'. It was the site of a quarry which was once used to mine granite.